An attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest non-stop concert by multiple artists has been underway for about 12 days now inside a Stouffville, Ont. tavern -- amazingly, the organizers say the round-the-clock party is still going strong.

Musicians at The Earl of Whitchurch Pub belted out their first note on St. Patrick’s Day. The official time to beat was 372 hours and 10 minutes, or about 16 days, set at a pub in Las Vegas. That was until a rival bar in Detroit played for around 17. However, that record has yet to be officially confirmed by Guinness.

Official or not, the fresh injection of cross-border competition has strengthened the Canadians’ thirst for victory. Reinforcements have even started to pour in from other provinces to help secure the bragging rights.

“We had a gentleman that showed up the other day that had flown all the way in from Saskatchewan, and is staying for three days,” one volunteer told CTV News.

Claiming the official Guinness title means adhering to a set of strict rules.

  • The concert must run continuously
  • Each song must be at least 2 minutes long
  • No performer can return to the stage within an hour
  • No more than 30 seconds between songs
  • No more than five minutes between musical acts
  • No single song can be repeated within four hours
  • There must be at least 10 (conscious) audience members at all times

Event organizer Kevin Ker and his team lined up approximately 400 different musicians, who will perform everything from jazz to opera and rock, funk and pop over the course of the world record attempt.

The organizers are also using the marathon of music to raise money for several different charities – one for each day of the concert.

“This is such a grand event and so big in scope that we decided instead of one charity, why not have a different charity every day?” Ker said in an earlier interview.

Drawing a crowd in the early morning, not to mention keeping people energized after last call, has been a challenge. But Ker says the community has pulled together to make sure nothing is left to chance.

“Usually at about 4 o’clock in the morning the audience dips down a little bit. But we’ve had a huge outpouring of community support, people dropping off coffee and muffins,” he said.

The final note is expected this weekend, barring news of more rival record attempts.

With a report from CTV’s John Vennavally-Rao